South Korea expresses regret over domestic assault of Vietnamese woman

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon has expressed regret over the brutal assault of a Vietnamese woman by her Korean husband last week.

"It is very regrettable," he told visiting Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam in Seoul on Monday, Yonhap News Agencyreported. He said he is sorry for the incident.

The PM also promised greater efforts would be made to ensure the rights and safety of Vietnamese living in South Korea.

Min Gap-ryong, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, said at another meeting with Lam on Monday: "It is very regrettable that a Vietnamese woman has been victimized by domestic violence. I promise a thorough investigation and rehabilitation for the victim," according to a statement on Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security website.

Vietnam's Minister of Public Security To Lam (L) meets with South Korean PM Lee Nak-yeon in Seoul, July 8, 2019. Photo by Vietnam News Agency/Manh Hung.

The vicious assault by the unidentified 36-year-old man made headlines in both Vietnam and South Korea over the weekend after a video posted last Saturday showed him slapping his wife in the face, kicking her and repeatedly punching her in the head and stomach as she crouched in a corner at their home in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, 300 km south of Seoul, last Thursday.

The beating lasted three hours and was witnessed by their two-year-old son who was seen crying loudly beside his mother.

South Korea media said the woman had suffered such assault before and this time she decided to record it on her cellphone. She turned on her camera, placed it inside her son’s backpack and positioned the bag at a place she thought would capture her beating beaten.

She showed the video to a Vietnamese friend, who reported to the police the next day before uploading the video online.

The man has been taken into custody. The police added child abuse to the charges against him since the assault occurred in front of the child, Yonhap reported.

Several petitions have been uploaded with 10,000 signatures on social websites in South Korea calling for severe punishment for the man.

Vietnam has overtaken China as the country sending the largest number of brides to South Korea, according to the South Korean embassy in Hanoi. In the last few years around 6,000 Vietnamese women have been marrying South Koreans every year.

Vietnamese women, many from poor rural families, have for long been marrying South Korean men in the hope of finding a better life in the wealthy nation. But it has not always been a fairy-tale ending for them though the number of suicides and fatal beatings has declined in recent years.